Heroes
Heroes --Check out the allegiances first for better understanding.-- Duskpaw, Stormpaw, Rosepaw, Reedpaw and Sunpaw are friends and are each of different Clans: ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan, and SkyClan. They know the Clans are constantly at war but find they must stop it. But how? Prologue "Fight. Fight for all we're worth, we enemies take it far to our desire." The clearing was full of chatter, holly bushes surrounding the cats surrounding for the Gathering of all segregated into their own groups - Clans. But this night they were all together. "Are we all here?" Owlstar of ThunderClan meowed. "Yes." Cherrystar meowed. "Aye!" Birchstar of WindClan called. "Seems so. But where is RiverClan?" Dawnstar of ShadowClan observed. "Probably roaming about WindClan territory, fattening themselves up with our prey!" Birchstar huffed. WindClan cats around their leader meowed in agreement while elders and other Clan cats sniffed and muttered in disapproval. "Here they come!" Owlstar yowled. Emberstar, the RiverClan leader hurtled out of the bushes, followed by a short patrol of sleek, hefty RiverClan warriors and apprentices. "We heard what you said about us," the soot-colored leader meowed, as he leapt upon Great Rock, next to the ShadowClan leader. The rest of WindClan rushed over and sat next to ThunderClan. "I will start," Emberstar decided. "RiverClan has been eating their own fish. Once a rabbit strayed into the territory so we claimed it-"Liar! It was on our territory; you stole it!" Freshleap, the WindClan deputy hissed. "You are the liars! You also allowed an apprentice to catch some fish from our stream!" the RiverClan leader rebuked. He glared at the WindClan apprentice, Finchpaw, who ducked in fright. "If you keep on accusing us unfairly, WindClan will surely battle you!," Birchstar cried, her pet bristling. "Plus, ThunderClan has been stealing our rabbits! How's that?" "You are a vacuous, impudent fibber! Do not drag ThunderClan into this, and why in the name of the Dark Forest would we steal your rabbits when we have plenty in our territory already?" Owlstar retorted. The apprentices and queens gasped; they had never heard their leader swear before. "Hmm, and where did those "plentiful" rabbits come from? Our. Territory," Birchstar smirked. "I won't spar- "Actually, not trying to point claws but apparently the strongest ShadowClan warriors have scented ThunderClan on our territory, and a recent brace of frogs in a food cache, left in front of the border, was missing the same day, same patrolling time" Dawnstar narrowed her eyes at the ThunderClan leader. "Don't even get into this!", Owlstar yowled at Dawnstar. "RiverClan's apprentices, Frostpaw and Spottedpaw got injured by the ShadowClan deputy! They were on their first day of being an apprentice!" a random RiverClan Warrior called out in the crowd. Streamfur , deputy of ShadowClan gasped. "Why, you scoundrel! I never- "If it was their first day, why weren't their mentors there, hmm?" a ThunderClan she cat mewed. "And SkyClan killed Grassfish!" Mallowreed of RiverClan yowled. "Because you mangy excuses for Warriors were too weak to defend your Clan!", Cherrystar cackled. Now every clan was glaring at each other. The mingling queens hissed at each other, warriors unsheathed their claws, and apprentices were already tackling others. But here's the question: If this night was dreadful, imagine how the future would be... Chapter 1 ~ Duskpaw "Real. I sense the feel, the pain aching in my soul." "Duskpaw, can you ever be quiet?" Oatbird hissed. "Sorry Mom", Duskpaw meowed guiltily, edging his light brown fur away from the reeds they had brushed earlier. "WindClan, to me!", Birchstar hissed. "As you know, we are going to battle the cruel RiverClan to teach them never to mess with RiverClan.", the leader paused. "Murder is allowed. Come on! And for StarClan's sake, win it this time. Those fish-hearts can't get away with it", WindClan padded through the marshy RiverClan territory. Duskpaw didn't like this 'war' thing. He was a 6 moon apprentice, half-moon of being an apprentice. If what WindClan did all life was provoke unnecessary attacks, Duskpaw may as well not be a Clan cat. He knew he was a wimp. Every warrior wanted to fight for their Clan while he hated war. It wouldn't be long enough till his Clan - and everyone, found out he was a traitor; he was better off as a kittypet. The clearing was silent for a bit before a screech split the air and Duskpaw nearly jumped out of his fur. RiverClan obviously expected this attack; it seemed to be the whole Clan was here let alone kits - even queens and elders fought. Oatbird was tackled and pawed at by a sleek RiverClan tom. Duskpaw wailed and covered his eyes in fright. But as he peeked over his paws, he noticed that Oatbird was up - but so was the tom. "Hya!", Oatbird swiped at the tom's nose. "Agh!", she knocked him down. "Yeeahh!", she took his claws off of her and grunted as she snapped his neck. The RiverClan warrior groaned and fell to his side. Oatbird sighed and swiped off her blood, hyperventilating. "Y'see Duskpaw? That's how you get 'em. Now go, boy!", Oatbird shoved Duskpaw into the midst of the battle! Why? He wanted to hide! Then he noticed her: The light gray she cat; powerful ice-blue eyes. Without thinking, he tackled her and rolled her into the bushes. "Get off me, you big lump!", she yowled. "You can't just attack me like that!", she huffed. "Stormpaw", he breathed. "I hate this, I hate it so much!" "Yeah...why do they have to fight? Makes no sense when we can just go our way in peace. I don't believe WindClan was stealing and neither was RiverClan stealing. Why would anyone make that up?", Stormpaw hissed. "Yeah", Duskpaw sighed, and washed his pelt. "We have got to meet Reedpaw, Rosepaw, and Sunpaw." "The meeting's tomorrow," Stormpaw meowed. "Now let's back to the battle!", the light gray she cat burst out from the bushes. Duskpaw mewed in agreement but still refused to attack anyone. He noticed Oatbird staring at him with a steely expression. He gawped and leapt upon Stormpaw. "What's your problem", his friend yowled. "I told you, no attacking me! Especially because of your weight; eating rabbits constantly fattens you- "Stormpaw!" "Insulted? Fix it!" "No-no, my mother's watching. I don't wanna attack a strong warrior of your Clan; please play-fight with me?" "You have got to be kidding me!", Stormpaw huffed and sliced his nose. "Hey ow!" "What, claws can't be unsheathed in battle?", she proceeded to swipe his flank. In return, Duskpaw pinned her down. Stormpaw smirked. "What's that look? I've obviously-YEEOWWWWW!!!!!", unfortunately, he exposed his underbelly to her. "Calm down, would you? I think by your mother's stare, she'll come over here and twist my paw!", Stormpaw snapped. "She's scary, right? Be more gentle!" "You kidding me? My dad's the deputy! If you seriously hurt me, he'll make sure your pelt's ripped off, and claw your flesh!" Duskpaw flinched but before the two friends could do anything, they heard: "RiverClan, retreat!", Lionleap, the deputy called. At once, the battle stopped, the shrieks were cut off, and WindClan exchanged smug glances. Birchstar meowed happily:"Told you, Rabbitwing, WindClan is the most powerful Clan ever existed!", the deputy nodded, smirking at Emberstar. Suddenly, a RiverClan queen tumbled over. "You fox-hearts!", she sounded as if she was screaming and running out of breath, choking and rasping at the same time. "RiverClan is suffering so much more than you are, and you dare to do this?" "Primrosefur-", Lionleap started. "StarClan curse you!", the queen was quickly ushered away by a cat that seemed to be her mate. "Wow.", Duskpaw turned to his friend, hoping she wouldn't be offended. Wrong. Stormpaw squealed in rage whenever she was about to throw a tantrum. She leaped upon Duskpaw and they rolled the battlefield. "You're crazy!" "You're a monster! Your Clan is! We NEEDED that territory!", tears welled up in Stormpaw's eyes as she allowed her friend to stand up. "What territory? We only came here to teach RiverClan a lesson- "You mouse-brain! You must have not been listening-you fox-hearts were planning on stealing the rose bushes and cherry trees! That...was...the...place....I...was...born...as...a...kit." Duskpaw was confused. "So?" She screeched like 100 owls being offended and pinned him down, biting his scruff. "I loved that place! It was all I ever had! But now that you won, you have it! Are you happy Duskpaw? Good. Satisfied? I hope you are, you little weasel!", Stormpaw spat and ran up to her mother and father who all glared at Duskpaw. The WindClan apprentice felt small; he hated weasels. "Come on Duskpaw, we're going!", Finchpaw meowed to him. He staggered as he followed the other apprentice. His mother was waiting for him, and he ducked down, expecting a rebuke as he caught up to her. But Oatbird simply nodded at him, and was silent the whole trip back. If winning a fight means hurting my friend's feelings, I don't like it AT ALL. I never did. ~-~ Finchpaw yawned and stretched in the apprentice's den as the sun climbed its way over the moor. "Wonder when it'll be my turn to visit the new territory", she flicked her tail as a greeting as she passed Duskpaw who was just getting up. The new territory Speaking of which...the meeting. ''Tonight Oh, I do wish Stormpaw forgives me - she'll definitely murder me on spot with Rosepaw, Sunpaw, and Reedpaw.'' Rabbitfur, his father padded up to him. His eyes were narrowed and his teeth were bared. "Oatbird told Birchstar how "well" you did on the battle. Stripedpelt will be mentoring you in battle another moon. Good luck.", his father lashed his tail as he walked away. Duskpaw moaned and sunk down. I was supposed to have my assessment in a half-moon. "Hey, Duskpaw! Your turn to visit the territory!", Finchpaw meowed. How worse can life get? Chapter 2 ~ Stormpaw "Bitter. Burnt like a fritter, Take it as far as you want but I'm the winner." "Stormpaw, lying down in your nest isn't going to help anything," Rainpaw, Stormpaw's sister and friend mewed softly. Stormpaw made a muffled sound from where she lay headfirst in her den. "Stormpaw...you have to train. Don't be upset; we'll teach those WindClan mange-pelts a lesson!," Darkpaw offered. "Go away." "Hey...it was the rose bushes we'd play in wasn't it?," a handsome deep voice mewed. Stormpaw finally looked up, eyes wide as she saw the gray tom, blue eyes. "Yes, Tidepaw. That's what they took" she said choking back tears. Tidepaw sat, quiet. "We invade and get it back." "I don't care. I want to be left alone.," Stormpaw sighed. "I usually go to the territory when I want to be alone..." she unsheathed her claws. "Hey, I'll suggest to Emberstar that we can invade and brutally murder any WindClan cat on it." Darkpaw offered. "Yeah" Stormpaw wiped her tears away. "Now come on, the hunting patrol is about to leave soon!" Rainpaw turned to leave the den, and Stormpaw rolled her eyes, annoyed, and followed her sister. ~-~ "RiverClan!," Emberstar yowled as Stormpaw's patrol got back. "We will be getting the rose bushes back now! Any WindClan cat there will be murdered! Let's go....Darkpaw, Stormpaw, Lionleap, Salmonpelt, Mackerelfur, Minnowstripe, Fishtail, Foxpelt, and me!" Stormpaw smirked as she unsheathed her claws. Time for my revenge! ~-~ They entered the territory swiftly and sleekly, claws unsheathed. Stormpaw could hear the shuffles of the fat WindClan warriors. She wanted Duskpaw to be as far from here as he could but at the same time, she wanted him here, fear in his eyes as his clanmates were struck down. "RiverClan, attack!" Stormpaw immediately leapt upon a gray she cat. She yowled and struck back, throwing Stormpaw across the clearing. Stormpaw screeched as she fell into a tree. And everything went fuzzy. "Stormpaw? Stooormmmmppaawwww" The voice sounded far far away and too blurry. Suddenly she felt something proceed forward and felt a sharp blow to her head. Everything sounded clear now. "Stormpaw....I...," I see Duskpaw. Before I can snarl at him I notice his gaze is petrified and I slowly reluctantly follow it to see the dead body of the she cat who had harmed me. "Stormpaw! I...I killed her." Duskpaw mewed, frightened. "So? As I recall, she's the one who tried to kill m- oh.," Stormpaw realized what this meant with a heavier pang than the one the dead she cat gave her. Great StarClan... Duskpaw killed his own clanmate! What do we do now? "WindClan retreat! RiverClan wins.," The WindClan deputy called. Chapter 3 ~ Rosepaw But all I know is the world is ending And the courage is mine to receive "Battle training over for today! Meet in the Sandy Hollows for tomorrow's practice!" Redclaw, the SkyClan deputy yowled. "You did good today, Rosepaw" Gingerblaze, Rosepaw's mentor meowed. "Thank you, Gingerblaze." Rosepaw mewed, proud. "I expect you'll learn battle in no time. Except give the back paw kick some work, okay?" "All right." Rosepaw padded back into camp and was about to go to her den along with the other apprentices when Cherrystar blocked their way. The radiant ginger she cat narrowed her eyes and asked the apprentices slyly: "Where are you going?" Rosepaw gulped. "Redclaw dismissed us from battle training. So we're going to rest" Stickpaw spoke up. Rosepaw tensed but Cherrystar nodded in understanding and the cream-furred apprentice sighed in relief. Then the leader struck a sharp blow on Stickpaw's face and all the apprentices' eyes widened with disbelief. "When did you apprentices get so smart?," Cherrystar asked. No one answered. "I thought the first lesson you all "mastered" was learning the Warrior Code. Now which rule number is the one that says apprentices and warriors must hunt for the Clan before spending luxury time for themselves?" Again, nobody answered but Rosepaw felt her stomach squirm. Why did I forget to hunt? I could've warned the my friends! "Forgot that too?," Cherrystar lashed her tail and gave a look of disgust. "StarClan forbid me from useful apprentices!" "Cherrystar," Firepaw padded over. "I caught some fresh kill after battle training ended. I already fed the elders and the queens already had prey so I was wondering if you wanted this squirrel?" Cherrystar smiled sweetly at her apprentice. "Thank you Firepaw, yes I would like it. You will be a warrior very soon unlike some of your peers who can't do their duties properly.," the ginger leader shot a nasty look at the other apprentices. "You may have fresh-kill of your choice. And the rest of you, go hunt and bring 5 pieces of prey! Each!" The SkyClan leader stormed away with another tail lash. And Firepaw stared in confusion and worry after her leader and mentor left and especially as all apprentices glared at her before stalking out of the camp entrance. ~-~ The apprentices had all caught 5 pieces of prey but Cherrystar had gone back on her word and made them patrol before eating food and resting. "My. Legs. Will. Fall. Off" Mildpaw moaned and stumbled. "Hush!," Rosepaw snapped, feeling worried and suspicious. "Do you want to be reported to Cherrystar?" Mildpaw's eyes widened angrily. "You wouldn't dare...." "No, not me, but what about the other warriors here? And Firepaw? You know she's Cherrystar's little perfect apprentice; she's bound to tell her if she hears!" Rosepaw lashed her tail. "Oh" Mildpaw nodded, flicking her tail as in 'sorry'. Rosepaw brushed her pelt against her friend's to show forgiveness. "Come on," Tallflower meowed. "You apprentices can't be that slow!" Rosepaw sighed and padded farther as they patrolled. The thing was, SkyClan was facing worse than any other Clan. They had a tyrannic leader who made her Clanmates work for her well-being, not them. Rosepaw had heard that she brutally murdered whichever Clanmate disobeyed her. Which was why Rosepaw and everyone else had to be careful. She sighed. The meeting would be tonight. That was a plus. ~-~ Category:Foxstep's Fanfictions Category:I Will Fight